Babette's Feast

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Babette's Feast

G

1987

1h 42m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.

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Critics Consensus

Charming and melancholy, Babette's Feast is a timeless Scandinavian treat that explores the complex relationships between people, beliefs, and what it means to be an artist.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

12/06/2018

3/4

It's a strangely moving film about talents and passions used and not used.

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Tasha Robinson

The Dissolve

07/23/2013

3.5/5

While Babette's Feast is bleak, and often ponderous and stony, it eventually resolves as a moving hymn to art.

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

12/13/2012

3/5

Light, frothy and sweet on the tongue, but lacking nutrition.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

06/15/2022

Never has cinema presented such a chaste and tasty orgy. Director Gabriel Axel suggests something heterodox but logical: you can reach the soul through the palette. [Full review in Spanish]

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

04/19/2022

Babette's Feast makes us relax and feel good. We leave it happy.

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Ángel Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

03/31/2020

There's love and elegance, delicacy even, in the way Axel narrates this story about friendship and gratitude. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Peter V

2d

In a kind of prologue nestled within the film, Babette's arrival in the Danish village is explained within the first half of the film, in a compelling discourse that makes her presence thoroughly convincing and sets the stage for enjoying seeing and experiencing the dinner Babette gives to the villagers on their anniversary. The filming and making of the dinner are delightful, and the reactions of the participants are wonderful. The villagers are austere in some ways, but the Catholic Babette emerges in their eyes as an angel who will please God in heaven because of the gifts she offers them. Based on Isak Dinesen's story, the pen name of Karen Blixen of later Out of Africa fame, the film is about the gift of grace, opening the soul to a greater vision or experience of life and God. At the table, it is a celebration of a blissful religious experience, where the ordinary meets the extraordinary.

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Tom D

@Tomduffy14 Dec 28

Powerful illustration of the difference between Catholic (Babbette) and Protestant religions.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Nov 3

Funny in 1 hour and 42 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Copyright 1987-2025 by Orion Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on March 04th, 1987, in color!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Dusk L.

@MyNeighborDUSK Jul 16

A hugely entertaining drama with a unique story structure that says a lot about many things with a captivating narrative.

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Leaburn O

09/25/2024

Strangely enjoyable even though little happens. I think it’s the food, it’s like enjoying Masterchef. You can’t help but enjoy the diner’s own enjoyment of the feast. It’s a treat you can’t taste but you can dream about. Watched on DVD.

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Lanfranco C

@Lanfrancobz 05/24/2024

The pursuit of happyness: ethic, but pleasure too.

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Gabriel Axel

Director

Stéphane Audran

Babette Hersant

Jean-Philippe Lafont

Achille Papin

Jarl Kulle

Gamle Lorens Lowenhielm

Gudmar Klöving

Lorens Loewenhielm

Bibi Andersson

Svensk hofdame

Richard Gere’s Five Favorite Films

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Synopsis

Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.

Director: Gabriel Axel
Producer: Just Betzer, Bo Christensen, Benni Korzen
Screenwriter: Gabriel Axel, Karen Blixen
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Nordisk Film
Rating: G
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 4, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.8M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround

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